SDA School celebrates 30th anniversary

The Saipan Seventh-day Adventist School marked three decades of providing Christian education to students on island last June 1 with a celebration highlighting the school’s achievements and the folks who have played a vital role in the school’s success through the years.

Friday’s event kicked off past 9am with a motorcade involving Saipan SDA School students on board school buses and private vehicles bedecked with balloons in green and white, the proud colors of the school whose elementary campus is located in San Antonio across from Afetnas Square.

The motorcade passed through Koblerville then As Lito before going downhill past the Northern Marianas College campus then navigating along Beach Road to go back to its starting point where the anniversary program was held.

Besides the management, staff, students, and parents of Saipan SDA School, other SDA officials, government dignitaries, and other school supporters were also in attendance to commemorate the school’s significant milestone.

Pastor Louis Torres, president of the Guam-Micronesia Mission of SDA, congratulated the Saipan SDA School for 30 years of “making an impact and having an influence” among its student population.

Citing the importance of Christian education, Torres said that the reason why private schools offer better education than the public schools is that the former has “the privilege and freedom to talk about God.”

Torres, who shared that he got into gangs when he attended public schools, said it was a “blessing” for him to support Christian education for 42 years and counting.

“As parents, we want our children to do well. In providing spiritual and academic excellence, we are able to provide the best we can for our children,” added Torres, noting that children “are a gift of God.”

Having been a product of a private and faith-based school himself, Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos attested to the quality of education from institutions “where academic and character development” are both valued and where students learn the “valuable” lessons of citizenship, character and faith.

“The story of SDA is also one of faith,” said Inos. “You had a vision to enrich this community through education. After 30 years of growth, your small seed of faith has grown into a tree that is bearing fruit in our community. You have proven what can be done with vision and hard work.”

Inos urged the Saipan SDA School to help the administration’s vision of a Commonwealth of “good-paying jobs, quality education, excellent healthcare, safe neighborhoods, strong families, and much more” a reality through prayers for wisdom and strength.

“May your educational legacy live on in the Commonwealth,” he added.

Robin Lizama Palacios, an alumna who works with the Public School System, recounted her time at Saipan SDA School where she learned “many foundational skills that have assisted me throughout my education which led to my success and accomplishments.”

Palacios, now a doting mother of three, said that she also enrolled her children at Saipan SDA School so they, too, can get quality education and have the opportunity to earn “valuable life skill.”

Ronald Sablan, a parent of a current student, said he chose Saipan SDA school so his child will know about values “in a learning environment we felt made our parental responsibilities more manageable.”

Sablan added that he has faith and confidence in the institution which takes focus on “quality and fine education” through its national school programs and helps build a non-competing learning environment with diversity “for a better understanding of the small world around us.”

U.S. Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan congratulated Saipan SDA School and presented a plaque to principal Michael Berglund. The plaque, however, will have to be altered since it bears 25th anniversary commendation, as Sablan was told.

“I applaud the role that each of you have played in the accomplishments of this school and I look forward to seeing you all build from those accomplishments to achieve even greater successes over the next 30 years for yourselves and for all of us here in the Northern Marianas,” he said in his remarks.

Mayor Donald G. Flores, for his part, recognized that the Saipan SDA School is based on biblical principles. “You have come a long way and I salute you for the hard work you have done in teaching our children God’s word and that applying such wisdom is necessary for everyday living.”

“It is so important to have education that is based on Christian values and principles and we are so pleased to be able to provide that by God’s grace… Providing this education would not be possible without the commitment and dedication of the principals, teachers, and support staff,” said Dr. Ken Pierson, clinic director of SDA Dental Clinic, in his closing remarks.

Students of Saipan SDA School performed intermission numbers during the program. Healthy lunch was served following Friday’s event.